Page 70 of Night Fae
"We'll find them," Caelen assured him, squeezing Daniel's shoulder.
Malik looked up at Zev, whose expression had transformed into the cold mask of the assassin once more. Their eyes met briefly, and in that moment, Malik saw something fierce and resolute flash in Zev's violet gaze.
"They won't take you again," Zev said, his voice low enough that only Malik could hear. "I won't let them."
Lyrian shifted uncomfortably in his chair, wincing as he did so. His eyes darted between the faces around the table, finally settling on Knox.
"There's something else," he said, his voice dropping. "Something my grandmother told me. About Leon."
Daniel sounded hopeful. "You know where he is?"
Lyrian hesitated, his usually confident demeanor faltering. "She saw him in one of her visions. He's... he's with Yuri."
A heavy silence fell over the room.
"What do you mean 'with Yuri'?" Daniel demanded.
Lyrian's fingers tightened around the armrests of his chair. "According to my grandmother, Leon is working with him. Willingly."
"That's impossible," Daniel protested immediately. "Leon would never?—"
"Are you certain of this?" Caelen interrupted, his gaze sharp on Lyrian.
"I was hoping she was wrong," Lyrian said. "But she wasn't wrong about all of us gathering here."
Zev moved from behind Malik's chair, his expression hardening. "So what you're saying is that Leon is conspiring with the enemy."
Of course Zev jumped straight to suspicion. Malik couldn't let that stand. "We don't know that," he countered. "Yuri could be manipulating him somehow."
Adrian agreed. "Malik's right. We shouldn't judge so quickly."
Knox turned to Lyrian, his voice calm in spite of the tension building in the room. "Did your grandmother say where they were going?"
Lyrian's expression remained grim. "The Fields of Memories."
Daniel gasped. "Wait—the Fields of Memories?"
Malik felt a chill run down his spine. He remembered reading about those. "The place where shadow paths spill into the open air..."
A place where memories became real—at least to the person immersed in them. Malik had tried to imagine once or twice what it would be like to go there and interact with his dead loved ones again.
The novel warned against the place because everyone who went descended into madness. But Malik always wondered if it was the happy sort of madness.
Caelen studied the maps before him. "The Fields of Memories sit at the border between my kingdom and Night Court territory. They're considered neutral ground—or perhaps more accurately, no-man's-land."
"Why would Yuri take Leon there?" Adrian asked. "It sounds incredibly dangerous."
"Because the Fields don't just reveal memories," Caelen explained. "They can reshape them. Alter them. If Yuri wanted to change someone's perspective..."
"He could use the Fields to manipulate Leon's mind," Knox finished, his expression darkening.
Daniel stood abruptly. "We have to find him. Now."
"There's another complication," Lyrian added. "Night Court activity is increasing around the Fields. They're sending scouts, perhaps even excavation teams."
Malik felt Zev tense beside him.
"If both Yuri and the Night Court are converging on the Fields of Memories..." Adrian began.
